What a surprise this must have been to her!

“The fur got thicker when it reached three months old. Its face became pointy and its tail grew longer than that of a normal dog. Other pet dogs seemed to be scared by my pet, so I walked it on a leash,” she remarked. Wang, a woman in China, had decided to seek the help of a local animal expert after her new puppy whom she had brought home from the pet store after 3 months showed signs that it wasn’t one after all.

She ferried the animal to a local zoo with a leash in tow, which surprised the staff members when they saw it. The staff member remarked that based on the size, it is actually domesticated fox – not a puppy! Their body odor is one of the traits foxes carry, which worsen as they get older. Although some species of foxes do strongly resemble puppies when they are young, but everything else changes as they age, such as their trademark bushy tail and a lack of bark.

Foxes sold as pets are unfortunately, very common in Asia – many pet shops sell them illegally as domesticated pets. Their real identity is often a mystery to buyers, under the disguise as a dog. This causes many unsuspecting pet owners to expect dog behavior and traits from the ‘puppies’, until they reach maturity after a few months. Had Ms. Wang kept the fox, it probably would have either become ill and would have even destroyed her home.
A fox’s ‘perfume’ was also more than she could handle. Despite that, Wang did everything she could to give the fox a comfortable environment before surrendering him to the zoo.

Wang had noticed that the fox had all of sudden, stopped eating dog food and raw chicken – and this caused her to worry about his well-being in the long run. She then decided it was best for him to stay at the zoo, where he belongs with other foxes. Although she was upset to see him go, she was certain that she had made the right choice.

The zoo took the fox in and quarantined him to make sure he was healthy before introducing him to the others. In the fox enclosure, the fox was placed in an suitable environment where he would be able to get a proper diet, appropriate medical attention when needed as well as the opportunity to socialize with others of his own kind. Wild animals should never be kept as pets – don’t you agree?